


A Change

by Nynaeve



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s01e08 Cold Lazarus, F/M, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-04-07
Updated: 2008-04-07
Packaged: 2017-10-15 10:09:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/159757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nynaeve/pseuds/Nynaeve
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Epilogue to the episode "Cold Lazarus"</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Change

"No! I don't care how much you think you can do with it, do _not_ touch the alien device in the lab," Sam commanded into her cell phone. She stood in Jack's living room and she could hear Daniel and Teal'c clanking dishes as they washed them from the pizza eating fest that had just occurred. She put one finger to her ear and pressed the phone closer. If only physics allowed for the movement of hands through telephone wires… Felger was on the other end, babbling endlessly about some hair-brained theory of what the device actually did.

"If you touch it, Felger, so help me, you will wish you were on the wrong end of a Jaffa staff weapon," she stated before hanging up. Sam walked up the stairs into the kitchen where Daniel was rinsing dishes and Teal'c was placing them in the dishwasher. The Jaffa gave her a raised eyebrow as she touched her thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, letting out a perturbed sigh.

"Trouble on base," Daniel inquired, pausing and looking up at her.

"Felger. The last time I let him touch something it almost exploded. I don't know how someone so…" she searched for the right word while making hand motions in the air.

"Stupid?" Daniel offered.

She wrinkled her nose at such a blatant description, but hesitantly nodded in agreement. "I don't know how he got hired."

"Indeed," Teal'c responded, taking another dish from Daniel.

Sam glanced around, "So where's Colonel O'Neill?"

"Upstairs looking at the night sky, I think. He's been really pensive lately. I tried to get him to talk earlier, but he's been typical Jack about it," he replied, rolling his eyes.

"That whole crystalline entity thing must've really affected him," Sam said, her eyes drawn towards the hallway.

Daniel shrugged, "I think it's probably more the 'seeing Sarah type' thing."

There was a pause and it dawned on her that her teammates were looking at her and formulating some sort of plan. She didn't like that idea one bit.

"Why don't you go talk to him, Sam?"

"No, I can't, it'd be weird," she protested quickly. The idea of trying to have a personal conversation with Colonel O'Neill made her feel slightly queasy. The man had made it clear that he didn't like to get close to people. She wasn't about to push it.

"Maybe, but you seemed a little frustrated last week that you didn't even know he had a family," he pointed out. Sam narrowed her eyes, unable to think of a good argument.

"I'm not good at this stuff," she said, pleadingly. "I have a tendency to make people cry."

"I do not believe Colonel O'Neill will cry," Teal'c stated. Daniel gave him a quizzical look, before turning his attention back to Sam.

"Just try it, okay? If it doesn't work out, I'll buy you a drink."

"Okay, okay," she relented and turned to go down the hallway. The walls had various pictures on them, some of Charlie, a few of Sarah. There were a few empty spots with nails where some had been removed; Sam wondered which ones they were. She saw a pile at the end of the hall, past the opening to go up to where Colonel O'Neill was looking at the stars - and probably enjoying the fact that no one was bothering him. She briefly wondered if she could fake Daniel out and satiate her curiosity with the photos. _Oh well_ , she resigned, _here goes nothing._

The evening was warm and there was a slight breeze that rustled the leaves on the nearby trees. She saw him sitting next to a telescope, peering in and jotting something down in a notebook. He didn't notice her presence at first and she didn't want to interrupt him. Sam chewed her lip as she hesitated, not sure what to do next. Without looking up, he finally acknowledged her.

"Captain."

"Sir."

"What can I do for you?" Jack looked up at her and the breeze gently blew a few strands of her blonde hair out of place.

Awkwardly she walked towards him and sat down on the chair next to him.

"Honestly, sir, Daniel thought you needed someone to talk to and he nominated me," she answered looking apologetic. He smiled at her.

"Drew the short straw, did you?"

"No, sir," she replied quickly. This was not going well. She hoped Teal'c was right about Colonel O'Neill and the crying. "I'm sorry, I guess I don't know you very well and I thought I might – it was stupid. I'll leave you alone." She started to stand up, but his hand stopped her. Sam's heart started beating hard. Jack's hand gently rested on her bare forearm, pressing carefully to keep her seated.

"Stay. You came all the way up here, let Daniel think he's right. Team dynamics and stuff," he answered, pulling his hand away. She hoped her cheeks weren't as red as they felt.

"I guess I'll have to buy him a drink."

"I'll let you in on a secret, Daniel doesn't like beer. He also can't handle more than half a glass of wine. He'll be a cheap date." Jack looked into his telescope again. Sam shifted in her seat, not sure what to say next, so she decided to wait on him.

"Ever look at the stars?" he finally asked, continuing to stare through the telescope.

"My specialty is astrophysics, not astronomy," she said. Jack looked at her with a bit of a "duh" expression. "I like to work on cars."

Jack gave a small shrug and peered through his telescope again.

"I was sorry to hear about your son." Sam bit her lip, not sure if he would shut her down or actually talk. She wasn't sure how she wanted him to respond.

He moved away from his telescope, but continued to look down. A sigh escaped his lips and he moved his gaze outward towards the trees. "I guess this had to come up sooner or later." O'Neill turned his intense gaze back to her. "Look, I don't want to talk about it, it was a long time ago."

Sam nodded and stayed quiet. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"You know, for someone who spends most of the time being right, you apologize a lot." He glanced at her. She was about to apologize again when he held up a finger, "Ah ah ah. Unacceptable, Captain."

She gave him a withering glance since her only instinct was to apologize, yet again.

"You lose someone close to you, Sam?" he asked, changing topics.

"My mom. I was thirteen." Now it was her turn to feel the heat of self-exposure. "My brother blames my dad. Hates the military. Probably hates me too."

"That's the struggle with being a military family," he answered. He cleared his throat and dropped his gaze to the ground again before looking back at her. "Sarah is my ex-wife. At least as of Wednesday of last week. The whole crystal mini-me was too much for her."

"Oh, I didn't-"

"No, you didn't ask, but you were wondering. It's all the same."

Sam studied her commanding officer in the moonlight. His tough exterior for one moment was let down and she found herself drawn to him as a rich resilience in his character became apparent. He had seen combat, torture, wars, death, the loss of a child, the loss of a family, and somehow he kept standing. Whether she would ever fully grasp him, she didn't know, but it seemed as though it was worth trying.

Jack broke the silence by standing up and hunching down behind her, placing his left hand on her shoulder. "Do you mind?"

She shook her head.

"You know any constellations?"

"A few, I guess I should know more."

He leaned forward and with his right hand he pointed up at the night sky. "See, that's Gemini."

Sam tried to follow, but she was having a difficult time. "I don't see it."

"Here," he carefully took her arm and started motioning towards the stars. As she followed pointed finger that he guided, the constellation began to come together. Jack was about to show her another when he realized that they were only an inch away from each other's faces and that a gentle scent of mandarin and spice hovered around her. His breathing was heavier than a moment before and their eyes met in a moment of understanding. Sam had never realized how attractive he was until she saw how the moonlight reflected off his dark brown eyes. Slowly, she brought her arm down and relunctantly Jack moved away, removing his hand from her shoulder. In another life, they might have seized the moment and kissed each other, but in this life, he was her commanding officer. Sam stood up and put distance between them.

"Thank you… sir." she said, the night feeling much warmer than it had before.

"No problem, Captain," he replied with a false professionalism. Sam felt his eyes hot on her back as she moved back into the house. Something had happened, something had changed, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Whatever it was, though, her life and their relationship were about to become a lot more complicated.


End file.
